


Ache and comfort

by UndeadFae



Category: Inazuma Eleven
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Happy Ending, Hospitalization, Hospitals, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mild Language, Not Beta Read, lots of comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-28
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:34:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24419740
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/UndeadFae/pseuds/UndeadFae
Summary: Sakuma doesn't have it easy in the hospital between healing injuries and the constant fear of falling behind. He's not alone, and Genda will remind him of it.Day 4 of teikokuweek: Hospital
Relationships: Genda Koujirou/Sakuma Jirou
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Ache and comfort

**Author's Note:**

> guess who STILL doesn't know how to come up with titles or summaries  
> this post wasn't made by Fae

Sakuma dropped on the bed, wincing at the jolt of pain it sent through his leg, breath heavy, body shaking and sweat dripping down his face.

Even with his injuries mostly healed, now came the true hell, the therapy that would guarantee as much as it could that his body wouldn’t give up on him and collapse at any given time. He thought it had been bad after the Zeus match. He was so, so wrong.

What little time he spent awake, it was either with an IV stuck in his arm to keep the painkillers in his body or clinging to the bars as he tried to just walk again like anyone else. Neither stung as much as the reminder that he was being left behind, that his team would go on without him because he was starting to become too broken to run at their side.

He hated it, all of it.

At least there was still a light in his life.

He was feeling worse than usual that day, the pain a bit more unbearable than usual, all the little things that always got on his nerves piling up and threatening to drown him.

The doctors and nurses kept telling him to be patient and kinder to himself, that he was already making far more progress than anyone expected so early into the recovery process. With how much he was struggling to just stay on his feet without collapsing, his legs always shaking under him even when he had something to lean on, he couldn’t bring himself to believe that.

He was weak. Weaker than what he thought.

Genda had just knocked and walked into the room, kind smile on his face and a plastic container filled with cookies in hand. As much as Sakuma would’ve liked another penguin, he did have to reluctantly admit that he was starting to run out of space. Knowing where the cookies must’ve come from, he could appreciate them. Not as much as he appreciated Genda's presence, though- as awful as he felt, knowing Genda was still there for him helped, at least a little.

“Hey. How are you feeling today?” Genda left the container on the nightstand and moved to take a seat next to him, already reaching out to take his hand. Sakuma just huffed.

“Like shit, how else?” He had gotten lucky in that match, Sakuma wanted to say. He managed to hold his tongue for once. Genda didn’t deserve to feel even worse than he already did over this whole thing. Genda still frowned, carefully looking him over.

“Any progress?”

Sakuma looked away, his free hand gripping the sheets, unable to look at him in the eye. That was all the answer Genda needed.

With a soft sigh, Genda shifted in his seat to be closer to him, gently squeezing his hand, the other brushing his hair just as softly, pushing the bangs out of his face and running his fingers through them. Sakuma couldn’t help the shiver that ran down his spine at the kind touch. No matter how awful he felt, how horrible the pain was, Genda always had a way of soothing him, always helped no matter how little he did.

Suddenly, he felt his breath hitching.

“Jirou…”

If there was one thing Sakuma truly loathed, was showing just how weak he was. It was one thing being aware of his own self-worth- or lack thereof. It was another thing entirely to bare it for anyone to see. Even with Genda, even with how kind and understanding he was, it wasn’t any easier. Genda was already trying hard enough to be strong for everyone as it was.

When he couldn’t hold back the tears anymore, Genda was still at his side, moving from brushing his hair to carefully wiping the tears away, his thumb caressing his cheek, almost too afraid to even touch him that much, like it would be enough to break him. Sakuma just leaned into his touch, trying to at least hold the sobs in when the tears refused to stop, even when he tried wiping his face with a sleeve.

“It’s okay… don’t be afraid to let it out…”

Genda knew, he knew how weak and useless he felt. He didn’t care anyways, just moving to sit on the bed and hold him in his arms. All he wanted was to feel his weight in his arms again, no longer cold and shivering and looking like he was on death’s door.

Sakuma just tried to cling to him with what little strength he still had, shaking as his hands clutched Genda's shirt as tight as he could. Genda just kept holding him, not caring even when his shirt was getting wet and stained by tears.

“I-I’m so useless… I-I can’t even w-walk on my own…”

“That’s not true…” Genda still refused to let go of him, even when Sakuma couldn’t find anything worth the effort. It was just who he was, always stubborn and refusing to give up. It was just one of the many things Sakuma loved about him.

“How can you be so sure…?” His voice was barely a whisper, almost as if afraid of hearing the answer.

“Because you have given me the strength I needed more times than you could ever imagine.”

Sakuma wanted to protest, to refute that and say it wasn’t true. He didn’t manage to say anything, just silently letting the tears freely fall.

As much as he hated to see him so hurt, Genda knew he needed this, needed to let everything out before it drowned him. Once was enough. He would just be there at his side and do what he could to help.

And so, Genda took a deep breath.

_“You are my sunshine, my only sunshine… you make me happy when skies are grey…”_

His voice was soft, low and soothing, sweet words of comfort sung right next to his ear. Sakuma managed to let out a soft sigh between tears, trying his best to just take deep breaths and let Genda calm him down.

_“You never know dear, how much I love you… please don’t take, my sunshine away…”_

He was already used to Genda singing that song, something he had already done countless times even before they confessed their feelings. It still made every occasion sound like the first time he had ever heard it coming from his lips. At some point, Genda went back to gently brushing his hair, humming in between lyrics, unwilling to let the silence take over and break the spell. Even when the song was over, he just started it all over again, determined to keep going until Sakuma felt better.

It worked, against all of Sakuma's expectations. Eventually, Sakuma couldn’t hold back a smile anymore, hiding his face in Genda's chest as he held him close.

“… Koujirou?”

“Mh?”

“Thank you. For staying with me… I love you.”

Genda just smiled, so warm Sakuma could only think of him as the sun. Then, Genda leaned in, gently pressing his lips against his temple in a soft kiss, letting it linger.

“I love you too... I would do anything for you.”

**Author's Note:**

> me, silently hoping someone catched the reference


End file.
